Finally my addiction gets funded!

Now that Christmas is over and the new year has come, I finally have some down time. Time to sew what I want! Sew something for ME!  I have long been wanting to make some curtains for underneath my crafting desks in order to hid all the junk storage I have underneath. While that means hours in the fabric store searching for the perfect fabric, it also means LOTS of money (I measured my desk and it will take about 8 yards of fabric to make the curtains! YIKES

So while on a quick trip to the fabric store, I decided to finally listen to my husband (the businessman and entrepreneur's advice) and test the waters in making and then selling my creations to others. Since Valentine's Day is approaching I thought about what I was doing this time last year. I was sewing Valentine Chair bags for my boys with my new machine!  When I made them there were lots of Facebook Ohhs and Ahhs and I even had a few "orders" for bags. So off I went, happily sewing the bags.

Keep in mind a year ago there was no Pinterest in my world so I found the tutorial for these the "old fashioned" way - AKA - my Google reader. 

Quickly, while leaving said fabric store, I typed up a quick Facebook post to test the interest level for Valentine Chair bags. Within a couple hours I had 5 bag orders!  Not too shabby.  A couple days later I was back at the store picking out felt, Valentine fabric, and the assorted notions I would need to fulfill my orders. Fabric was cut, piled, organized and prepped for sewing. Having a bit more sewing experience than I did a year ago and NOT wanting to fight with the bag like I did previously, I made a few changes to the original design making the bottom of the bag SO much easier to sew! Thanks to Pinterest and the amazing Copy Cat Bag tutorial (which is sadly no longer online - so glad I printed the tutorial out!) I saved myself hours of frustration and thus streamlined my assembly process.

Just a little over a week later and my bags are being delivered to customers and received with great joy (YAY- for customer satisfaction). After posting finished product pics on Facebook, I received another order for 2 bags as well as a order from a friend that wanted a purse like mine (again, the Copy Cat Bag!).

Not sure where this will lead as I do have 4 small children, homeschooling to accomplish, a house to manage, and the need for some down time, but I do know that very soon I should have my under desk curtains as well as a few other nice touches to make my crafting space a bit more friendly on the eyes.

Hero Snacks - Father's Day Gift

If I have learned anything over the past few years it is that when you make gifts for guys, snacks are always a hit! Every time I have to make something for a guy, I struggle to find an idea I feel they will truly enjoy. So when I saw this Hero snack kit on a blog, I instantly knew this would be perfect!

I took a taco box from Del Taco (that is used to house their 6 taco and 6 burrito deal) and covered it in paper. It has become a habit for me to save items that I can use for packaging or a cute craft. When I saw the Del Taco boxes I knew they were perfect for something! 

I then printed off the labels on cardstock, cut them out and then adhered them to the various packages of snacks with either glue dots or staples. I got snacks that I knew each guy would like (for example: Bryan's  vitamin pellets were sunflower seeds but I used honey roasted peanuts for my dad and father in law). 

Here is my sweetie on Father's Day afternoon enjoying his "hero juice"! 

Valentine Chair Bags

 I saw these bags on this blog and I knew immediately I had to make them for the boys!  Such a cute way to remind them how much I love them during the month of February. They really weren't too hard to make and the boys loved waking up each morning to a little treat inside!  

I had lots of leftover felt so I made a few "girlie" versions of the bag with ruffles for some friends. I sold them for $20 each. One of my friends came over and told me they sell these at Pottery Barn for WAY more than that!  Might have to make more of these for next year. Mama could get lots of craft supplies with just a few orders!

Christmas Creations, completed

I was busy all throughout December working on Christmas presents for my family and friends. I didn't get pictures of the sugar scrubs I created, but they were a huge hit. Not to mention they were super easy and inexpensive!

Sugar Scrub

16 oz plastic jar container (ordered from here)

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

3/4 cup olive oil (EVOO was used since it had less of a color than regular)

1 mL Essential Oil - I used grapefruit scent! (ordered from here)

For the brother in laws, we made movie night coupons complete with $1.10 taped inside for a Redbox movie! They also received a popcorn container from Target, 2 packages of microwave popcorn, and a king size pack of Red Vines!

For my new nephew, Joshua who was born on November 22nd, I made a picture frame. I got the idea from this blog, but since I never got over to Lowe's to get the wooden blocks cut, I used this MDF picture frame instead. I got the frame at Michael's, covered it with Mod Podge and some paper from a paper pad I already had. I then used my Cutting Up Cricut cartridge and cut out his name, birthdate, time and weight for the frame. To make his name stick out I cut a shadow of the letters about 1/2 an inch larger than the name.

For my mother in law, I wanted to make a family tree. With Bryan having 5 sisters, he has a large family that will only continue to grow. Only 2 of the 6 siblings have children so our number will significantly grow from the 18 people we have now. I had just gotten the Stretch Your Imagination Cricut cartridge for my birthday and it had an adorable tree on it with leaves that could be cut in a layer (a different color). I knew it would be perfect for making a family tree! I cut out the tree to be 11 inches and mounted it on a tan piece of 12x12 cardstock. I then dressed it up some with a bit of patterned paper. Using my Gypsy and the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge I designed the word family and welded it together (made it cut out as one piece instead of individual letters).
To finish it off, I placed each of the leaves on the branches adhering them with glue dots. On the leave with names, I used foam mounting square to make them "pop" off the page a bit more. I wrote on each of the names of the family members, clustering the leaves by the families. I put Bryan's parents in the center and from there, you will find 6 other clusters of leaves (our cluster of leaves was the biggest with 5 family members).

For my mom, I made another set of seasonal word blocks like I had made for my mother in law for Mother's Day (seen here). Here is a link to the post where I got the idea. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics - they got finished literally hours before I had to give them to her on Christmas Eve - so I will have to try to sneak a pic of them on day while I am at her house. Hers are a burgandy wine color with patterned paper behind the letters. She like them a lot and immediately displayed them on her table as you walk into her house. They currently say "blessed" since she said that is how she feels!

Still working on a set of paper dolls for some precious little girls (we haven't yet done our Christmas celebration with their family yet). I will take photos of those when I am done. The Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge is stinkin' adorable!

Christmas Creations

I have made some really cute things for Christmas presents. The bad news... I can't post pictures because they are gifts and I can't ruin the surprise (should a recipient read the blog). You will have to wait until after Christmas to see what I have been up to.

Happy Birthday Jesus Banner

One of my friends had a great idea and I stole it to use with my children this Christmas. Last year, she decorated her house for Christmas with balloons like a birthday party for Jesus's birthday! I love this because it is yet another reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

My friend wanted to come over and use my Cricut to cut lettering to make a banner this year to add to the party decorations. I got "bored" on day (well kinda, how bored can a mom of 3 boys really get!) so I started on my own banner while the boys napped. Within 24 hours, mine was done.

I wanted to use bright and fun colors for my banner. Once the basic banner was done, I decided it needed a bit of embellishment so I put my Cricut to work and cut out some party hats, ballons, cupcakes, and presents to add to it. Instead of stringing the banner on one long string, I tied each letter to the next with colorful ribbons. I LOVE the final product!

This has got to be my favorite letter! The J for Jesus is embellished with a crown! I think that is fitting, don't you???

Finished Turkey Cards

With a bit of ribbon and some rub on lettering, the handprint turkey cards for Thanksgiving were complete. Two were given to my son's teachers, two were for each set of grandparents and the final two (which were a bit different) will be used in my older boys' scrapbooks for Thanksgiving pages.

Thanksgiving Banners

As a little thank you for my son's preschool teachers, I made banners that say "Give Thanks". Using my Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge to cut out the letters. From one set of lettering I was able to make both banners. I cut the other shapes with my Creative Memories cutting system. With a few pieces of grosgrain ribbon, the banners were complete! The teachers loved them and they cost me virtually nothing since I already had all the materials.

Mother's Day Presents

I found this tutorial for a stationary box and wanted to try it out.  After about an hour, the box was done.  Next it was time to fill it up with gift tags and note cards.  It made the perfect gift for my mom for Mother's Day.  She frequently writes notes and letters to her sisters so I knew the cards would get put to good use.  

Her Mother's Day card: I added the word MOM outside.

Stationary Box

Front Flap (folded open) the pocket holds stamps and I included Post-It notes.

Small gift tag

View of the box when open, complete with 5 notecards in the back.

Mother's Day Presents

I made these blocks for my mother in law for Mother's Day.  The whole project probably took me an hour.  A few months ago, the idea was posted on Little Birdie Secrets and I saved it knowing I would one day tackle this project.  The great thing is that these 7 blocks can make a total of 16 words.  So that my mother in law would know what words can be spelled out, I wrote them on the bottom of the blocks.  The best thing is: these are very inexpensive!  Each block at Michael's cost $1.29.  I already had the antique white paint and mod podge.  Using my Cricut and a piece of patterned black paper, the letters were cut out in no time.  Now I just have to find a way to wrap them so that the blocks can say "mothers" when the package is opened!

They Are Finished!

I have finally finished a set of Jesse Tree ornaments.  I added the ribbon so they could be hung on the tree.  On the backs I wrote the day that corresponds to each ornament and the scripture passage that tells the story of Creation to Jesus's birth.  I can't wait to start the devotions each day with the boys and placing the ornaments on the tree!  I pray this is a tradition that will be kept for years to come and passed on to their children.

Jesse Tree for Christmas

I have started to create ornaments for a Jesse Tree.  I read about this on a blog and immediately fell in love with the idea.  Starting about 4 weeks from Christmas you sit down as a family for an advent devotional.  For each passage of scripture there is a person and an image that corresponds.  You then place the ornament on the tree.  I decided to use felt to make them since I don't have a sewing machine.  The ones below are not completely finished and I have since made 7 more.  I will keep you updated as we get close to starting our Jesse Tree this year!